Elvis Show Review: All Shook Up – Tribute to the King

Michael James reviews the Elvis show: All Shook Up – Tribute to the King

A running theme in my articles is that I’d been attracted to Las Vegas in my formative years, so (like many in my age group) I keep grasping for what seemed fun and innocent. Especially growing up in the ‘70s one of the few people who exemplified fun and innocence in Las Vegas was Elvis Presley.

So naturally, 40 years later I was still being pulled to see Elvis in concert. Unfortunately, he has been dead for most of those 40 years (side note: if Elvis were still alive, he’d be dead by now).  No matter, my wife knows me pretty well so for Christmas last year she bought us two tickets to All Shook Up – Tribute to the King in the V Theater at Planet Hollywood to enjoy during our April vacation.

I don’t generally get to a lot of shows in Vegas, but did get to three of them on our April trip; the taping of Penn and Teller: “Fool Us”, Raiding the Rock Vault and All Shook Up. Same as with the Penn and Teller taping, upon arrival at the V Theater we had to hang out until about 10 minutes before show time.

At least with Penn and Teller, there was a line. At the V Theater, we all stood on the balcony around a bar that had three possible theater entrances.  The website had indicated that the tickets were General Admission, so everybody was kind of milling about, jockeying for position around these possible entrances.  When they opened the door (on the opposite end of where we were, naturally), there was a bit of a dash to the door to get the good seating. And in the end, the VIP seats were already assigned, so that whole dance (at least for us) was for nothing.

So why make the patrons do that?

With all that said, no sooner were we in our seats and the show started with an off-screen introduction, then emcee Mick Tiano taking the stage looking just enough like Elvis (with the mutton chop sideburns and a velvet coat) to make you wonder “Is that him? What in the world did we get ourselves into?” Quickly, however, Mick made a joke about his appearance and started warming up the crowd before that night’s Elvis (Travis Allen) took the stage as ‘50s Elvis.

Backed by a three-piece band (guitar, drums, and bass), the athletic Allen hit all the moves we’ve seen Elvis do on TV and video. They played each song as you are familiar with them; no extra verses, no extended instrumental solos, no reinterpretation of lyrics or rearrangement of the music. Hound Dog sounded like Hound Dog, and Jailhouse Rock sounded like Jailhouse Rock… which is really what you want in a tribute show.

In other words, we were watching Elvis, not Travis Allen.

After performing most of his ‘50s songs (at the time I couldn’t think of anything from that era that he didn’t sing), Elvis took a break and Tiano came back on for 10-15 minutes. It was mostly a stand-up comedy routine, but he did some impressions, including an amazing two minutes of Ray Charles singing “What’d I Say.”

Tiano then brought back Allen, this time in full ‘70s Elvis dress.  And dare I say that the half hour of ‘70s Elvis brought the house down? He was electric, again doing all of the ‘70s Elvis moves that we’ve seen on video clips, and sang most of the songs from that era.  He handed out scarves (he gave one to the lady next to me, and I was soooooo jealous) and dedicated “American Trilogy” to the veterans that were in the crowd.

After the last song, Tiano (from off-stage) boomed “Elvis has left the building”, then a pause, then “Unless you want one more song” as Elvis came back and encored – naturally – with Viva Las Vegas.

The show lasted a crisp 75 minutes in a full theater. He didn’t do any 60’s songs other than the encore (like “GI Blues”, “Devil in Disguise” or any other movie songs) but it was never really noticed because of how Allen nailed both the ‘50s and ‘70s Elvis.

The only other comment is the goofy theater that held the show. It held only about 200 seats in six or eight rows and the stage was a very small with the only prop being a cheesy lit-up sign that said “ELVIS.”  It was a very odd, cramped set-up, but Allen did a spectacular job of making it work.

As Las Vegas continues to distance itself from its past, I am hoping that All Shook Up can move into a larger theater, one more fitting the dynamic show that Travis Allen gave me. Tickets for the current show in the V Theater appear to go for $67 for GA or $77 for VIP, but right now there is a Groupon for $20 / $30.  For as good as the show was, I think the original price is too high based on the rinky-dink theater, the 6:00 PM start time and the 75 minute run time.  On the other hand, the current Groupon price is an absolute steal.  Even if you miss the Groupon, countless other discounts can be had with a simple internet search.

If you like Elvis or even if you are just a fan of old Vegas, you can do a lot worse than spend an hour and a half with Travis Allen and All Shook Up.

[Photos: Michael James]

Michael James

Michael James is a true Vegas Nerd. First falling in love after hearing details of an aunt’s visit in the ’70s, and nurtured when the gambling bug hit as casinos started opening on every street corner across the country in the ’90s. When not reading Vegas blogs and message boards, he’s a metals buyer by day and a competitive bowler by night in Milwaukee.